Design Hotel: Shangri-La Suite at the Shard

Found in theShangri-La hotel within London’s Shard, this is the only riverside suite in London with views of buildings both to the east and west of the city – and they are breathtaking. Look down from the living room and dining room of your 39th-floor, 2,024sq ft eyrie, and there’s Canary Wharf in the distance, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge just below, and the City just over the river. Roll out of bed and you can spot St Paul’s, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. The views are better from here than from the 52nd-floor bar, largely because in the suite you’re just above buildings, rather than soaring in the clouds.

The interiors are by Francesca Muzio and Maria Silvia Orlandini of FM-Architettura d’Interni Studio, an Italian company best known for designing the interiors of mega-yachts, Moscow and Bahrain penthouses, and Shangri-La hotels in China. The slick, clean-lined décor feels part-Italian, part-Oriental, mixing Armani lamps, cream quilted sofas and Rubelli Venezia silk cushions with chinoiserie, Eastern artworks and palm-leaf patterned carpets. It is calm, restrained and soothing so as not to distract from the main attraction: the glorious views, which can be admired from long creamy sofas, velvet and leather chaise lounges, two desks or a dining table that could easily seat a dozen guests.

There isn’t a design detail that hasn’t been considered, from brass-inlaid tables and an extensive collection of coffee-table books to sheets (super-soft Chinese-made cotton), goose-down pillows and thick mattress-toppers, marble (green, brown and black, from all over the world), flowers (huge bowls of white orchids) and treats (jars of macarons and a chocolate model of The Shard). The large bathroom has a huge Jacuzzi bath and steam shower, Aqua di Parma amenities, and an adjoining walk-in wardrobe (with heavy hangers and elegant finishing but a rather modest safe). The office has a tablet and free Wi-Fi, and adjoining the dining room is a kitchen, with a Nespresso machine, wine fridge and a rather mean mini-bar (small spirits, everyday mixers and standard Shangri-La crisps, nuts and jellybeans). But then, with a 24-hour butler on hand, perhaps in-room drinks and snacks aren’t considered necessary.

Four floors down is Ting, Shangri-La’s fine-dining restaurant, which specialises in pretty food (dollops of exotic ingredients, such as foie-gras terrine with edible pansies). Thirteen floors up is Gong (a bar with priority booking for residents) and a small pool from which to watch seagulls soar as you swim.

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